Department for Education

Students: Loans

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will increase the student loan repayment thresholds in line with inflation.

Robert Halfon: The student finance and funding system must provide value for money for all of society at a time of rising costs. It is important that a sustainable student finance system is in place, that is both fair to students and fair to taxpayers. The department is freezing maximum tuition fees for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years. By 2024/25, maximum fees will have been frozen for seven years. The repayment of student loans is governed by the Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) Regulations 2009 (as amended). These set out that borrowers starting full time undergraduate courses from 1 August 2023 on the new Plan 5 student loan will be required to make repayments from April 2026, once they have left study, and only then when they are earning over the repayment threshold of £25,000 per year, which will be adjusted annually by the Retail Price Index (RPI) thereafter. For existing undergraduate borrowers on Plan 2 student loan, the annual repayment threshold will stay at £27,295 up to and including financial year 2024/25. Thereafter, annual adjustment of the Plan 2 repayment threshold will be based on RPI. The annual repayment threshold for Plan 3 postgraduate borrowers remains at £21,000. We will continue to keep the terms of the student finance system under review to ensure that they keep delivering value for money for both students and taxpayers. Student loans have significant protections for those making loan repayments, including for lower earners and borrowers who experience a reduction in their income. Borrowers are liable to repay only after leaving study when earning over the relevant repayment threshold. At any time, if a borrower’s income falls below the relevant repayment threshold, or a borrower is not earning, their repayments stop. Any outstanding debt, including interest accrued, is written off after the loan term ends, or in case of death or disability, at no detriment to the borrower. There are no commercial loans that offer this level of protection. If, at the end of the year, the borrower’s total income is below the relevant annual threshold, they may reclaim any repayments from the Student Loans Company made during that year.

Higher Education: Standards

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing a statutory duty of care on higher education providers.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the legal basis is for a general duty of care on higher education providers to deliver educational and pastoral services.

Robert Halfon: The mental health and wellbeing of young people is a high priority for this government. It is crucial that students get the effective mental health and wellbeing support they need to allow them to flourish at university.There is already a general duty of care for higher education (HE) providers to deliver educational and pastoral services to the standard of an ordinarily competent institution and, in carrying out these services, HE providers are expected to act reasonably to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their students.The law of negligence has been developed through case law over many years. Duty of care exists as one of the four key elements for liability in negligence to be found. The existence and application of a duty of care between HE providers and students has not been widely tested in the courts. However, it is understood across the HE sectors, and in legal circles, that the tort of negligence applies in the relationship between a provider and a student.The department has made reference to the duty of care in relation to those with mental health issues in ‘Prevent’ guidance under ‘When can a duty of care arise?’. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-prevent-duty-of-care-and-the-wellbeing-of-staff-and-students-in-higher-education-he/the-prevent-duty-of-care-and-the-wellbeing-of-staff-and-students-in-higher-education-he-notes-for-trainers.Students with disabilities, including mental health impairments, are also well protected under the Equality Act 2010, which prohibits discrimination and imposes a duty on HE providers to make reasonable adjustments where disabled students are put at a substantial disadvantage.Given existing duties that apply, the department does not believe a further statutory duty would be the best approach to improve outcomes for students. We have instead made clear our ambition for all providers to back the University Mental Health Charter by 2026. We expect universities to create cultural change around mental health by embedding a whole-university approach to support, as advocated by the charity Student Minds, with student mental health and wellbeing considered across every aspect of university life. We have also asked the Office for Students to allocate £15 million this academic year to support projects focussed on student mental health, such as the online wellbeing platform, Student Space, and establishing better partnership working between providers and NHS services.

Students: Finance

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to reform student finance.

Robert Halfon: The government announced that it will introduce a Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE) from 2025 to provide a streamlined funding system for provision across levels 4 to 6. The LLE will enable people to train, retrain, and upskill to meet the needs of the economy and advance their careers.The LLE will provide individuals with a loan entitlement to the equivalent of four years of post-18 education to use over their working lives (for example £37,000 in today’s fees). It will be available for both full years of study at higher technical and degree levels, and, for the first time, for modules of high-value courses, regardless of whether they are provided in colleges or universities.Loans for living costs and targeted grants will be available in respect of all designated courses under the LLE, including part-time courses, subject to need.Under this flexible skills system, people will be able to space out their studies and learn at a pace that is right for them, including choosing to build up their qualifications over time within both further education and higher education (HE) providers. They will have a choice in how and when they study to acquire new life-changing skills.The government has legislated through the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022 on the LLE. On 1 February 2023, building on these measures, it introduced the HE (Lifelong Learning) Fee Limits Bill as a further step towards delivery of the LLE from 2025.As part of the pathway towards the LLE, as of the start of the 2022/23 academic year, the government began trialling loan-funded access to tuition fees for designated short courses at levels 4 to 6 at 22 providers across England through the HE Short Course trial, which tests a more flexible approach to funding learning at levels 4 to 6.On 7 March 2023, the government published its response to the LLE consultation, providing a detailed conclusion to the consultation and a clear description of the key changes being brought in as part of the LLE.

Schools: Finance

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the SEND and alternative provision improvement plan, published on 2 March 2023, when she plans to respond to the consultation on the schools National Funding Formula in 2023.

Nick Gibb: As set out in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published on 2 March 2023, the Government response to the consultation on the schools National Funding Formula will be published in spring 2023.

Special Educational Needs: Worcestershire

Mr Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of SEND support for childcare and the early years on provision in Worcestershire.

Claire Coutinho: Ensuring children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support when they need it is a priority, including those children and young people in Worcestershire.Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) re-inspected Worcestershire SEND services on their 12 areas of significant weakness between 1 and 3 November 2021 (letter published 14 December 2021). The inspectors assessed each area of weakness and concluded that the Council had made sufficient progress in addressing eight of the significant weaknesses. Worcestershire Children First produced an Accelerated Progress Plan to address the remaining four areas of significant weakness.The department is committed to supporting and monitoring progress of the identified areas for improvement and have put in place regular monitoring and challenge meetings with SEND advisers from the department and NHS England.We are also supporting local authorities through the ongoing delivery of new special and alternative provision (AP) free schools. On 2 March 2023, the department announced a successful bid from Worcestershire County Council to build a new special school that caters for the needs of pupils with autism spectrum disorder in Malvern.This announcement followed an application that evidenced need for school places for children and involved engagement and support from stakeholders including education providers, health partners, parents and carers and local MPs who have been consistently calling for more provision in the local area.The new special free school will provide 120 full time places for pupils aged 5-19 with autism, who are able to engage with a mainstream curriculum with extra support and who would also benefit from a specific environment and staff dedicated to a holistic approach.A final decision on who will run the new school will rest with my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education.In addition, on 2 March 2023, the department published the SEND and AP Improvement Plan in response to the Green Paper of March 2022. The Improvement Plan sets out how a new, single, national SEND and AP system should deliver consistent, clear, and early support for children and young people with SEND. These new standards aim to make consistent the provision that should be made available across the country for every child and young person with SEND. There will also be new local SEND and AP Partnerships, strengthened accountability and dashboards, and reforms to funding.

Transport: Schools

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to maintain the provision of school transport services in rural areas.

Nick Gibb: The Department’s school transport policy aims to ensure that no child of compulsory school age is unable to access education because of a lack of transport. Local Authorities must arrange free travel to school for children aged 5 to 16 who attend their nearest school and cannot walk there due to the distance, route safety, or as a result of special educational needs, disability or mobility problems. There are additional rights to free transport for low-income families aimed at helping them exercise school choice. Home to school travel and transport guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-to-school-travel-and-transport-guidance.The majority of central Government funding for home to school transport is made available to Local Authorities through the Local Government Finance Settlement, administered by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. The Department provides grant funding to Local Authorities as a contribution towards the cost of extended rights transport, which is just under £45.8 million in the 2023/24 financial year.

Students: Housing

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure student accommodation meets the necessary standard.

Robert Halfon: The government is committed to fundamentally improving the private rented sector and providing a better deal for renters, including by halving levels of non-decency in all rented homes by 2030. The 2022 Queen's Speech committed to introducing a Renters Reform Bill and the government will do so as soon as possible in this Parliament.This bill includes the introduction of a new Property Redress Scheme (PRS) Ombudsman which all PRS landlords who rent out property in England will be required to join. The introduction of an Ombudsman to the sector will enable all tenants, including students, to challenge poor practice and standards and confidently hold landlords to account. We also want to give local councils strong and effective tools for enforcement, to crack down on non-compliant landlords and poor practice.If a student in a purpose-built student accommodation has as any concerns about their accommodation, they should in the first instance raise their complaint with their accommodation provider using that provider’s own complaints process where relevant.If their concerns remain unresolved, and their higher education (HE) provider is involved in the provision of the accommodation, students at providers in England or Wales can ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for HE to consider their complaint.If the accommodation provider is a member of one of the codes of practice, students can raise a complaint under these codes, which can be found here: https://www.thesac.org.uk/, https://www.unipol.org.uk/the-code/how-to-complain and https://www.nrla.org.uk/about-us/code-of-practice.

Classroom Assistants: Recruitment

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring schools to employ teaching assistants on full time contacts.

Nick Gibb: The Department values and appreciates the dedication, professionalism and hard work of teaching assistants, and knows the valuable contribution they make to pupils’ education.The Government’s education reforms gave schools the freedom to make their own decisions about budgets and staffing. For most staff, including teaching assisstants, schools have the freedom to recruit according to their own circumstances and set pay and conditions.Many schools pay teaching assisstants according to Local Government pay scales. These are set through negotiations between the Local Government Association, which represents the employer, and Local Government trade unions (UNISON, Unite, and the GMB), which represent the employee. The Government does not have any formal role in these matters.

Students: Finance

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to provide alternative student finance options to people whose faith prohibits them from using interest-based loans.

Robert Halfon: I refer the hon. Member for Batley and Spen to the answer I gave on 24 March 2023 to Question 167263.

Special Educational Needs: Reform

Sir Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that the reforms to the SEND system make it easier for parents to get an assessment for their children.

Claire Coutinho: In May 2022, the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper set out the government’s assessment of the challenges the SEND and AP system faces, including assessments and education, health and care (EHC) plans.In March this year, the government published its proposals to deliver improvements through developing reformed templates and guidance to deliver a nationally consistent EHC plan process, which makes greater use of digital technology, with the aim to increase consistency and the speed with which support is put in place.The government continues to support local authorities, with their core budgets increased to £60 billion for the next financial year. Local authorities have the flexibility to spend according to local needs and priorities, including undertaking EHC needs assessments.

Apprentices

Mr Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made for the number of people who start an apprenticeship but fail to complete it due to the requirements to provide certification for functional skills.

Robert Halfon: The information requested is not held. The department cannot reliably identify if learners that fail to complete an apprenticeship do so because of a failure to meet minimum requirements for certification in English and maths.

Teachers: Training

Mr Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of when the independent evaluation of the national roll out of the early career framework will be published.

Nick Gibb: The Department published interim results as part of the independent evaluation of the national roll out of the Early Career Framework in May 2022. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-career-framework-induction-evaluation.The Department will be publishing the latest findings shortly.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Metals: Waste Disposal

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of (a) illegal scrap metal operators on the metals recycling sector and (b) waste crime on (i) the waste and recycling sector and (ii) UK economy.

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will increase funding to the Environmental Agency to help tackle illegal operators in the (a) metals recycling and (b) waste and recycling sector.

Rebecca Pow: Waste regulation is a devolved matter. Following our consultation on reform of the waste exemptions regime in England and Wales we plan to remove the T9 exemption for the recovery of scrap metal and the U16 exemption for using vehicle parts dismantled from end-of life vehicles. These operations will now require an environmental permit. My Department has made no assessment of the potential impact of waste crime on the waste and recycling sector or the UK economy. Research for the Environmental Services Association (Counting the Cost of UK Waste Crime, 2021) estimated that waste crime costs the economy in England £924 million in 2018/19. The Government has provided an additional £10 million per year for the Environment Agency to tackle waste crime. This additional funding has been invested into three key areas of waste crime – tackling illegal waste sites, illegal dumping and illegal exports.

Octopuses: Animal Welfare

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had discussions with animal welfare experts on the welfare implications of farmed octopus; if she will make it her policy to prohibit the import of farmed octopus products to the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Mark Spencer: The Government is considering carefully the implications of recognising in law the sentience of cephalopod molluscs, such as octopus. There are currently no plans to bring forward additional legislation in this area.

EU Law

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the Departmental delivery plan that outlines its intention for each piece of retained EU law as committed to in a letter from the Minister for Industry and Investment Security to Baroness Andrews on 3 February 2023.

Mark Spencer: Defra is conducting analysis of its Retained EU Law stock to determine what should be preserved as part of domestic law, as well as REUL that should be removed, or amended. A list of regulations to be revoked or allowed to sunset, through the REUL Bill will be published in due course.

Cats and Dogs: Tagging

Dean Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made in analysing the responses to the Consultation on cat and dog microchipping legislation in England.

Rebecca Pow: We will shortly issue the summary of responses and the Government’s response to the ‘Consultation on cat and dog microchipping legislation in England’ which was launched in Spring 2022.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Israel: Palestinians

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his policy is on the making of a request to the International Court of Justice to provide an opinion on the legal consequences of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Leo Docherty: The UK is a strong supporter of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and we respect the independence of the Court. The UK believes that the latest ICJ referral on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict represents an inappropriate recourse to the advisory opinion mechanism as this undermines the efforts to achieve a settlement through direct negotiations between the parties, which remains the only viable path to a lasting peace.

Israel: Palestinians

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral statement on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 23 March 2023, Official Report, whether he has had recent discussions with his Israeli counterpart on the impact of unilateral action by that country on the potential for peace talks.

Leo Docherty: The UK's position on settlements is clear. They are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace, and threaten the physical viability of a two-state solution. We are disappointed with the recent repeal of the 2005 Disengagement Plan Implementation Law by the Israeli Knesset. The Foreign Secretary met Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on 21 March, and in his phone calls with him on 10 January and 7 March, he also emphasised the need for de-escalation and the need for both sides to refrain from unilateral actions that make it harder to secure a sustainable and just peace based on a two-state solution.

Israel: Palestinians

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support progress towards a two-state solution in Israel and Palestine.

Leo Docherty: The UK remains committed to making progress towards a two-state solution, resulting in a safe and secure Israel living alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian State; based on 1967 borders with agreed land swaps, with Jerusalem as the shared capital of both states. The Prime Minister met his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, on 24 March and emphasised the risk of undermining efforts toward the two-state solution. The Foreign Secretary and Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, Minister for the Middle East, met Israeli Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen, during his recent visit to London on 21 March. They discussed our strong bilateral relationship and also the vital importance of de-escalating the rising tension in the West Bank.

Iran

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to take steps to refer Iran to the UN Security Council.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in Iran on humanitarian support for people in Iran.

Leo Docherty: The UK is committed to holding Iran to account and calling out Iran's human rights violations in a range of multilateral fora. The UK raised the important issue of human rights in Iran at the latest session of the UN Human Rights Council and at a UN Security Council Arria Formula meeting in November. The UK co-sponsored the UN General Assembly resolution on human rights in Iran, supported the creation of a UN Fact Finding Mission on Iran and helped ensure Iran's removal from the UN Commission on the Status of Women.The UK welcomes the latest report by the UN Special Rapporteur, which provides further confirmation of the extent of the Iranian government's human rights violations and we take note of the seriousness of the report's findings. We raise human rights with the Iranian authorities at all appropriate opportunities and remain committed to continue holding the regime to account for their actions.The UK has also supported humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in Iran through our contributions to UN and other international programmes and funds.

Iran: Lions' Den

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the implications for its policy funding of the Lion’s Den terrorist group by Iran.

Leo Docherty: The UK Government regularly assesses the impact of Iran's destabilising activity throughout the Middle East, including its political, financial and military support to several militant and proscribed groups. We work closely with our partners to deter destabilising Iranian activity in the region, including through a range of sanctions designations. We are aware of the activities of the Palestinian militant group Lions' Den and other militant organisations and we are working hard to de-escalate tensions in order to achieve a peaceful negotiated solution for Israel and the Palestinians.

British International Investment

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the value was of British International Investment’s (BII) revaluations for its (a) total investment portfolio and (b) intermediated fund investments in each of the last 10 years for which data are available; and what the value was of BII’s largest individual (i) negative and (ii) positive revaluation in each of the last 10 years for which data are available.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: British International Investment (BII) is a long-term patient investor investing across developing countries. The regions where BII invests are often subject to significant macro-economic challenges and financial volatility. In isolated years market conditions and events may significantly impact on the value of individual companies and BII's portfolio is subject to significant fluctuation in value. BII publishes the value of its portfolio and its portfolio return in its Annual Review and each Annual Review is available on BII's website.For the past ten years, the value of i) BII's total portfolio (all of investments that BII holds); and ii) BII's investments through intermediated funds only is as follows:YearPortfolio value - all investments (end of year)Funds value only (end of year)Returns value (for the year) (%) USD - total portfolio2011$3,017m$3,017m-4.4%2012$3,585m$3,504m14.2%2013$4,146m$3,715m7.3%2014$4,557m$3,979m11.4%2015$4,420m$3,088m-0.9%2016$4,740m$2,665m5.2%2017$5,324m$2,757m7.8%2018$5,531m$2,529m-2.6%2019$6,273m$2,511m-2.1%2020$7,059m$2,484m-0.9%2021$8,142m$2,832m10.8%For the past ten years, the value of BII's largest individual (i) negative and (ii) positive individual investment level valuation changes are as follows:YearLargest individual positive valuation change (end of year)Largest individual negative valuation change (end of year)2011$53.7m$-42.7m2012$96.7m$-10.6m2013$165.7m$-23.2m2014$111.1m$-9.5m2015$97.6m$-121.1m2016$51.8m$-51.1m2017$94.7m$-81.0m2018$39.3m$-61.2m2019$24.4m$-97.0m2020$46.7m$-43.6m2021$126.9m$-48.2m

Development Aid: Water

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the press release entitled UK announces new support for improving access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene in Asia and Africa, published on 22 March 2023, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of that funding to improving water, sanitation and hygiene in those regions; which organisations and partners he plans to allocate that funding to; and which financing models he plans to use for that funding.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK's £18.5 million of funding of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Systems for Health has the potential, by strengthening systems, needed to establish reliable, resilient and inclusive WASH services, to help end preventable deaths in up to five developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Organisations and partners for the main delivery phase will be selected during the design phase. The financing model is expected to be a grant funding mechanism to partners that can demonstrate capability in supporting countries to strengthen their WASH systems.

Senegal: Elections

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent diplomatic steps his Department has taken to engage with the government of Senegal on (a) freedoms for opposition parties and activists in the next 12 months and (b) steps to support a free and fair Presidential election in Senegal in 2024.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK supports peaceful, free and credible elections in Senegal. Our Ambassador and Embassy in Dakar regularly engage with the Government of Senegal and civil society and have met with opposition groups to reinforce this message. The Embassy conducted election monitoring for legislative elections in 2022 and engages with civil society groups and international partners in Senegal to support media freedom, which is essential for contributing to a democratic and open society.

Treasury

Aviation: Fuels

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has had discussions with the Department for Transport on the need for a price stability mechanism to ensure that sustainable aviation fuel production takes place in the UK.

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of implementing a contracts for difference scheme for the production of sustainable aviation fuels in the UK.

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the US Inflation Reduction Act and the need for a price support mechanism for sustainable aviation fuel in the UK on the future levels of domestic production of those fuels.

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an estimate of the future value of sustainable aviation fuel to the British economy.

James Cartlidge: The government is committed to supporting the uptake of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF). A SAF mandate will be introduced to drive demand. A consultation setting out further detail on the mandate and potential uptake trajectories for SAF was published on 30 March. It reaffirms our commitment that at least 10% of fuel must be made from sustainable sources by 2030. The government is investing in SAF plants to boost supply. 8 SAF plants received support through the green fuels, green skies competition. A further £165m is being invested through the Advanced Fuels Fund between 2022 – 25 to support UK SAF plants reach commercial scale. DfT commissioned an independent review in October 2022 to understand how to accelerate investment in a UK SAF industry. The government will publish the review and respond to it shortly. The government has been clear that it wants to see the UK continue to capture its share of the global SAF market and play a leading role in the development, production and use of SAF. As the response to the independent report will set out, government will continue to work in partnership with industry and investors to explore the best approach to addressing barriers to investment.

Charities: VAT

Duncan Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment for the implication for his policies of the changing charities' status on the list of goods and services set out in the EU Annex III of the Principal VAT Directive; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing VAT rates for charities on their energy bills.

James Cartlidge: Subject to a transition period until April 2024 for existing qualifying charities, from 15 March 2023 the availability of UK tax reliefs for charities is restricted to UK charities only. The application of VAT reliefs for charities will not be affected. As the UK is no longer part of the EU, it now enjoys greater freedom when setting rates of VAT than was allowed under the VAT Directive. Charities already benefit from the reduced rate of VAT where their fuel and power are used for non-business purposes.

Aviation: Fuels

Henry Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Transport on the potential merits of introducing a price stability mechanism for the production of sustainable aviation fuel in the UK.

Henry Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of implementing a contracts for difference scheme, similar to that used to in the wind sector, for the production of sustainable aviation fuels.

Henry Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a price support mechanism for sustainable aviation fuel.

Henry Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential fiscal impacts of increasing funding for sustainable aviation fuels.

James Cartlidge: The government is committed to supporting the uptake of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF). A SAF mandate will be introduced to drive demand. A consultation setting out further detail on the mandate and potential uptake trajectories for SAF was published on 30 March. It reaffirms our commitment that at least 10% of fuel must be made from sustainable sources by 2030. The government is investing in SAF plants to boost supply. 8 SAF plants received support through the green fuels, green skies competition. A further £165m is being invested through the Advanced Fuels Fund between 2022 – 25 to support UK SAF plants reach commercial scale. DfT commissioned an independent review in October 2022 to understand how to accelerate investment in a UK SAF industry. The government will publish the review and respond to it shortly. The government has been clear that it wants to see the UK continue to capture its share of the global SAF market and play a leading role in the development, production and use of SAF. As the response to the independent report will set out, government will continue to work in partnership with industry and investors to explore the best approach to addressing barriers to investment.

Tax Yields: Scotland

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2023 to Question 170744, what data his Department holds on revenue accrued to the Exchequer in (a) inheritance tax, (b) capital gains tax, (c) tax on dividends and (d) vehicle excise duty from people domiciled in Scotland in the 2021-22 financial year.

Victoria Atkins: While HMRC holds some of the data requested, it is not yet available for the 2021-22 financial year and could only be estimated at disproportionate cost.

Treasury: Public Consultation

Sarah Olney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which consultations published by their Department are awaiting a response; and when each of those responses (a) were initially planned to and (b) will be published.

James Cartlidge: All government consultations and calls for evidence are published on gov.uk, which also provides an update on whether government has responded to these.

Bank Services: Rural Areas

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to improve access to banking services in rural areas.

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help improve access to cash in rural areas.

Andrew Griffith: The way consumers and businesses interact with their banking and make payments continues to develop at pace, bringing significant benefits to those who choose to opt for the convenience, security, and speed of digital services. Nonetheless, in recognition that cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, the government is currently taking legislation to protect access to cash across the UK through Parliament as part of the Financial Services and Markets Bill 2022. The legislation will establish the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as the lead regulator for access to cash with responsibility and powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of withdrawal and deposit facilities.  The government also believes that all customers, wherever they live, should have appropriate access to banking services. The government does not intervene in commercial decisions on branch closures, but guidance from the Financial Conduct Authority sets out its expectation of firms when they are deciding to reduce their physical branches or the number of free-to-use ATMs. Firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of planned branch closures on the everyday banking and cash access needs of their customers and consider possible alternative access arrangements.

Mortgages: Travellers

Catherine West: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of discrimination against the proximity of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller sites by mortgage providers.

Andrew Griffith: The pricing and availability of mortgages – including those being taken out on properties situated close to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller sites – is a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene.

Banks

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Governor of the Bank of England on (a) the provision of liquidity to the UK banking sector and (b) swap lines between central banks.

Andrew Griffith: The Chancellor of the Exchequer and Governor of the Bank of England meet regularly to discuss a range of issues including conditions in the UK and global financial markets. Swap lines are a routine lending facility amongst central banks and form a part of the global financial architecture. Changes to bilateral swap line operations are a matter for the Bank of England.

Financial Services and Markets Bill

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will pause the passage of the Financial Services and Markets Bill in response to the instability in the global financial system.

Andrew Griffith: The government has no plans to pause the passage of the Financial Services and Markets Bill. The Bill will establish a coherent, agile and internationally-respected approach to financial services regulation that maintains high regulatory standards and can adapt to the specifics of UK markets.

European Investment Bank

Liam Byrne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much and what proportion of the UK's subscribed capital to the European Investment Bank has been returned; how much subscribed capital remains to be returned; and when this capital will be returned.

Andrew Griffith: Details of the return of the UK’s subscribed capital to the European Investment Bank can be found in the European Union Finances Statement 2022.

VAT

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had discussions with his Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of the provisions of the Windsor Agreement on his ability to vary the VAT registration threshold.

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had discussions with his Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of the provisions of the Windsor Agreement on his ability to vary the VAT registration threshold for Northern Ireland.

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of the provisions of the Windsor Framework on the Government's ability to zero rate and exempt additional goods and services from VAT in Northern Ireland.

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he held discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of the provisions of the Windsor Framework on the Government's ability to zero rate or exempt new goods and services from VAT.

Victoria Atkins: The Windsor Framework establishes new freedoms for the UK to set VAT rates and thresholds in Northern Ireland that go far beyond those available before EU Exit. That includes the ability to zero rate additional goods for VAT and vary the VAT registration threshold.All tax policy is a matter for the Chancellor, including how this applies in Northern Ireland, and any potential changes will be considered at future fiscal events.

Department for Business and Trade

Minerals: Supply Chains

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the increase in demand for critical minerals used in net zero technologies on the critical minerals supply chain.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Government is committed to building resilience and security into UK supply chains for critical minerals. Our recent support for Pensana’s plans to build the UK’s first rare earths refinery in Yorkshire, and Green Lithium’s refinery project in Teesside, shows our intent to put our Critical Minerals Strategy into action.We are launching an independent Task & Finish Group to investigate UK industry's critical mineral needs – now and in future – across various sectors, including those making net zero technologies, as well as opportunities for industry to promote resilience in its supply chains.

Environment Protection

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to paragraph 29 of the G7 Climate, Energy and Environment Ministers’ Communiqué, published on 27 May 2022, what steps her Department plans to take to assess the potential (a) impacts of deep sea mining operations and (b) environmental harms; and if she will make a statement.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: We continue to act responsibly in line with the position set out in the communiqué, including through taking a precautionary approach. We commissioned an independent evidence review into the potential risks and benefits of deep sea mining, which was published in October 2022:https://www.bgs.ac.uk/news/deep-sea-mining-evidence-review-published/Through the UK’s sponsorship of academic research and existing exploration licences, over 70 peer-reviewed publications supporting a greater understanding of environmental issues associated with deep-sea mining have already been produced, with more to come. The Government is also part-funding the SMARTEX project on seabed mining and resilience to experimental impact, which aims to build a better understanding of the ecosystem in the Pacific abyss.

Deep Sea Mining

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department plans to take to consult relevant stakeholders on deep-sea mining polices.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The UK’s approach is both precautionary and conditional. As a responsible international actor and Party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the UK is fully engaged in the negotiations underway at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and will work closely with partners who are committed to ensuring the highest environmental standards are embedded in the Regulatory framework of the ISA. We would engage in public consultation ahead of making a decision to issue any UK-sponsored deep sea mining exploitation licence.

Mining: Seas and Oceans

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make it her policy to introduce a moratorium or precautionary pause on deep-sea mining until a specific set of environmental, social and governance conditions are in place.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: We judge that engaging fully with international negotiations at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) is the most effective way for the UK to work with others so that no deep-sea mining takes place in the absence of strong and enforceable environmental regulations and standards. The UK’s approach is both precautionary and conditional. As a responsible international actor and Party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the UK is fully engaged in the negotiations underway at the ISA and will work closely with partners who are committed to ensuring the highest environmental standards are embedded in the Regulatory framework of the ISA.

Gold: Imports

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of gold mined for import into the UK on the UK's environmental footprint.

Nigel Huddleston: The Department for Business and Trade has not assessed the potential impact of gold mined for import into the UK on the UK's environmental footprint.

Foreign Investment in UK

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department issues guidance on steps that members can take to support (a) foreign direct investment, (b) local businesses that export, (c) small and medium-sized enterprises and (d) start-ups in their constituency.

Nigel Huddleston: The Department for Business and Trade works closely with MPs to encourage exports and attract foreign direct investment including through our network of Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys. At an Export Showcase for parliamentarians in March we shared information about export support available to business and guidance on signposting businesses to the department. We published an ‘MP Toolkit’ to help members support and encourage exporters in their constituencies. We provide a range of support and guidance to help small and medium-sized enterprises grow, including the free Business Support Helpline and newly-launched Help to Grow website. Businesses of all sizes can access government-backed finance from the British Business Bank.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

BBC Radio: Local Broadcasting

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions her Department has had with the BBC Board on the provision of BBC local radio services.

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department has taken to help ensure that there is a public consultation with listeners on the planned changes to BBC local radio services.

Julia Lopez: The Government recognises the important role that the BBC’s local radio services play in terms of the provision of local news and information, and of community engagement in the local area.The BBC is operationally and editorially independent from the Government as set out in its Royal Charter, and decisions on service delivery and how it consults with audiences are a matter for the BBC. However, we are disappointed that the BBC is planning to reduce parts of its local radio output. In the Department’s regular conversations with the BBC, we have been clear that it must make sure it continues to provide distinctive and genuinely local radio services, with content that reflects and represents people and communities from all corners of the UK.The Government also expects Ofcom, as regulator of the BBC, to ensure the BBC is robustly held to account in delivering its public service duties. Ofcom recently published a new BBC Operating Licence, which sets out that it will hold the BBC to its commitments on local radio in England in relation to news and travel, breaking news and major incidents and its contribution to local democracy.Under the new Operating Licence, the BBC will be required to monitor the impact of changes on audiences and publish more information about how it delivers high quality, distinctive content and services for audiences across the UK. Ofcom monitor the BBC’s performance in this area closely and step in if they are concerned the BBC is not delivering for audiences. Ofcom also plans to commission new research to better understand what audiences need and value from local services.

Anti-social Behaviour: Crime Prevention

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the availability of youth workers for meeting the objectives of the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan, published on 27 March 2023.

Stuart Andrew: The government has committed to a National Youth Guarantee: that by 2025, every young person will have access to regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home and opportunities to volunteer. This is supported by a three-year investment of over £500 million in youth services, which the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan builds on. The Youth Investment Fund, an integral part of the National Youth Guarantee, will invest over £300 million in creating and refurbishing up to 300 youth facilities in levelling up priority areas. Over 80% of top tier local authority areas eligible for the Youth Investment Fund contain at least one anti-social behaviour hotspot.The Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan committed an additional £11 million of new funding to provide an extra one million hours of youth support in anti-social behaviour hotspots, the equivalent of around 200 youth clubs opening their doors for an extra night a week. Work is underway to deliver this initiative and further details will be announced in due course.Additionally, The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) funds the National Youth Agency to maintain a register of qualified youth workers. DCMS is committed to supporting a skilled and trained youth sector workforce and we are working with the National Youth Agency to ensure clear qualification pathways, free training and access to financial support for qualifications. To date DCMS has awarded funding for bursaries for over 2,000 individuals to undertake youth work qualifications who otherwise may have been excluded due to cost.

BBC: Political Impartiality

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the impact of the BBC's use of externally contracted presenters on the impartiality of its output and content.

Julia Lopez: The impartiality of the BBC, as a publicly-funded broadcaster, goes to the very heart of the contract between the Corporation and all the licence fee payers it serves. This is why the BBC’s Royal Charter enshrines the need for the BBC’s services and output to be impartial.The Charter guarantees the BBC’s operational and editorial independence, which means that it is for the BBC itself to determine how to deliver impartiality in its output. This would include the BBC’s approach to using externally contracted presenters and what impact that has on the impartiality of its output and content.The Government stands fully behind the requirements of the Royal Charter, and has been clear that the BBC must place a firm emphasis on impartiality and maintaining the highest editorial standards. It can never be the BBC’s role to judge, or appear to judge, the diverse values of people from across the country it serves. In an era of fake news, public service broadcasting and a free press have never been more important, and the BBC has been, and should be, a beacon that sets standards to which others can aspire.The Government established Ofcom as the independent regulator of the BBC in 2017, and it remains a priority for the Government to work with Ofcom to deliver an effective and proportionate regulatory framework that holds the BBC to account while maintaining its creative freedom and operational independence. Ofcom is responsible for the regulation of editorial standards, and can consider complaints about BBC content, including accuracy and impartiality.

Home Office

UK Border Force: Airports

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to help ensure airports have sufficient Border Force resources ahead of the Easter and Summer holiday periods.

Robert Jenrick: Border Force’s number one priority is to keep our borders safe and secure for all passengers, and we will not compromise on this. We are working closely with all UK ports and airports to ensure passengers have the smoothest possible journey. Border Force have robust plans in place to deploy officers flexibly to support passenger flow and to help minimise wait times and queues at the UK border.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many migrants in small boats have been prevented from sailing across the Channel in the last 12 months.

Robert Jenrick: These crossings are dangerous, illegal and unnecessary, and the UK Government works closely with the French to prevent them from happening wherever possible. In the past 12 months, nearly 33,000 crossing attempts have been prevented as a result of our joint work.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has identified alternative accommodation for Afghan refugees who are due to leave hotel accommodation by the end of the 2023.

Robert Jenrick: The Government is working with local authorities across the UK to meet the demand for housing. Over 9,000 Afghans under our ACRS and ARAP pathways [please check this] have been supported into settled accommodation.Hotels are not suitable for long-term accommodation, and we want to support people to rebuild their lives in the UK so that they can enjoy the freedoms of independent living and integrate into society. Supporting them to move into long-term more suitable accommodation is critical in achieving this.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate her Department has made of the cost of accommodating Afghan refugees in non-hotel accommodation.

Robert Jenrick: Local authorities receive a integration tariff funding of £20,520 per person, over three years, for each Afghan family they resettle and provide full integration support to for this duration. They have the flexibility to use this funding to contribute towards renting accommodation, including deposit, letting fees and necessary furnishings. We are providing over £35 million of new funding to local authorities to deliver greater support and are also expanding the Local Authority Housing Fund by £250m which helps councils to source homes – where the majority of this additional funding will be used to find homes for Afghans.

Visas: Seasonal Workers

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 27 March 2023 to Question 171512 on Visas: Seasonal Workers, how many compliance investigations have been (a) launched and (b) concluded by her Department since the start of the seasonal worker scheme.

Robert Jenrick: To date compliance investigations have resulted in two outcomes, one was the revocation of a licence and the other a suspension of a licence, and that investigation is on-going.

Undocumented Migrants: Legal Aid Scheme and Legal Opinion

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that people entering the UK by irregular means in the future will be able to access both legal advice and legal aid in a timely manner before they are removed.

Robert Jenrick: People subject to the duty to remove under the Illegal Migration Bill will have access to means and merits-free legal advice before they are removed from the UK.

Visas: Skilled Workers

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of skilled worker visa applications submitted by people who reside in Northern Ireland at the time of application have been waiting for a decision for more than three months.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office does not routinely publish data on this specific issue.The Home Office publishes data on the number of skilled worker visas which have been processed outside target processing times in our Transparency data.The Home Office Transparency data sets out how the department is performing against its service standard, which can be found on the GOV.UK webpage: Sponsorship transparency data: Q4 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Seasonal Workers: Recruitment

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what measures her Department has in place to help ensure that foreign workers hired for the seasonal workers scheme by licensed scheme operators are recruited legally, ethically and fairly in their countries of origin and in compliance with UK and source country rules and regulations.

Robert Jenrick: The Scheme Operators are responsible for managing the recruitment and placement of workers on UK farms, and ensuring their welfare in the UK. This includes ensuring ethical recruitment practices and complying with all aspects of UK law, such as Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority regulations.The Home Office and Defra monitor the scheme closely, to ensure operators adhere to the stringent requirements set for ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the seasonal workers.

Deportation: Legal Opinion

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to ensure that people who have been removed from the UK under the Illegal Migration Bill are able to receive legal advice if they wish to make (a) an appeal against their removal or (b) a human rights claim.

Robert Jenrick: People subject to removal under the Illegal Migration Bill who wish to make a human rights claim will be able to access legal advice from overseas after they have been removed from the UK. Any appeal against the refusal of a suspensive claim will be heard while the person is in the UK.

Visas: Overseas Visitors

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) applications and (b) decisions for standard visitors visas were made in each of the last twelve months.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many standard visitor visas were processed by her Department by the (i) nationality and (ii) region of origin of applicants in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time was for a standard visitor visa to be processed by the (a) nationality and (b) region of origin of applicants in the last 10 years.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office publishes data on Entry clearance visas in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on granted Visitor visas, by nationality and region of nationality, are published in table Vis_D02 of the ‘Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes detailed datasets’. The latest data relates to Q4 2022 (October to December).The Home Office publishes data on the percentage of applications of Visitor visas processed within Service Standards in VSI_02 of the Visa and Citizenship Transparency data. The latest data relates to Q3 2021 (July to September).

Ministry of Defence

RAF Alconbury

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Service Family Accommodation and (b) Single Living Accommodation units there are at RAF Alconbury; and how many personnel are based at that site.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Service Family Accommodation and (b) Single Living Accommodation units there are at RAF Feltwell; and how many personnel are based at that site.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Service Family Accommodation and (b) Single Living Accommodation units there are at RAF Lakenheath; and how many personnel are based at that site.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Service Family Accommodation and (b) Single Living Accommodation units there are at RAF Mildenhall; and how many personnel are based at that site.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Service Family Accommodation and (b) Single Living Accommodation units there are at RAF Molesworth; and how many personnel are based at that site.

Alex Chalk: I will write to the right hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Nuclear Weapons: Finance

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Government's proposal to invest £3 billion in the UK’s defence nuclear enterprise, how much of that funding will be invested in (a) Project Mensa or (b) Project Pegasus.

Alex Chalk: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to his question 172329 on the 28 March 2023.Defence Nuclear Enterprise (docx, 18.1KB)

Hunting: Licensing

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many trail hunting licenses were approved for use on his Department's land in 2022.

Alex Chalk: The number of trail hunting licenses approved for use on Ministry of Defence land in 2022 was 21.

Ministry of Defence: Conditions of Employment

David Warburton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to improve the its workplace culture.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the UK Armed Forces are committed to taking action to improve culture and eradicate unacceptable behaviour. This involves a broad range of ongoing interventions, from developing training, carrying out climate assessments, implementing a suite of policies including the 'Zero tolerance to unacceptable sexual behaviour: A victim/survivor focussed approach', and working to better understand why these behaviours occur. We are transforming our approach to Service Complaints and the Service Justice System, improving trust and confidence in those systems so that when unacceptable behaviours arise, they are reported and dealt with seriously and expeditiously.

RAF Henlow

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the (a) size in hectares and (b) housing unit potential of RAF Henlow.

Alex Chalk: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 March 2023 to Question 155024.Redford Barracks (docx, 18.4KB)

RAF Topcliffe

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the (a) size in hectares and (b) housing unit potential of RAF Topcliffe.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the (a) size in hectares and (b) housing unit potential of RAF Honington.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the (a) size in hectares and (b) housing unit potential of RAF Marham.

Alex Chalk: RAF Topcliffe is 280.578 hectares in size. RAF Honington is 395.782 hectares in size. RAF Marham is 718.633 hectares in size. No assessment has been made of the Housing Unit Potential of these sites, as they have not been identified for disposal.

Housing: Construction

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to Figure 8 of the NAO report Optimising the Defence Estate, HC293, published on 11 June 2021, what targets his Department has for releasing land for housebuilding in England.

Alex Chalk: The Department has no target for releasing land for housing. MOD sites are sold when they are surplus to military requirements, not to release land for housebuilding.

RAF Alconbury

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the (a) size in hectares and (b) Housing Unit Potential of RAF Alconbury.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the (a) size in hectares and (b) Housing Unit Potential of RAF Feltwell.

Alex Chalk: RAF Alconbury is 85.528 hectares in size. RAF Feltwell is 136.605 hectares in size. No assessment has been made of the Housing Unit Potential on these sites, as they have not been identified for disposal.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Telephone Services

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has had with Target on the payment of bonuses to its staff in relation to the operation of contracts for telephony services for his Department.

Dehenna Davison: As a regulated contracting Authority, all contracting decisions are made in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 or other relevant regulations where applicable.

Housing Associations: Rents

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing guidance to housing associations to cap rent increases for shared ownership properties at seven per cent.

Dehenna Davison: The Government welcomes the fact that housing associations representing 95% of that sector's Shared Ownership homes have already confirmed that they will limit rent increases to no more than 7% in 2023-24. We are pleased to note that a significant number of for-profit providers and local authorities have also chosen to adopt this approach.

Social Rented Housing: Tenancy Transfers

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allowing social tenants to swap homes with other social tenants living in different local authority areas.

Dehenna Davison: The Regulator of Social Housing's Tenancy Standard requires providers to enable their tenants to gain access to opportunities to exchange their tenancy with that of another tenant, by way of mutual exchange services. The Government has consulted on revised directions to the Regulator on updated regulatory standards, including standards relating to Mutual Exchange. The consultation closed on 30th March.

Homes England: Redundancy

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has received a request from Homes England to run a redundancy scheme.

Dehenna Davison: The department has received and approved a business case from Homes England on a planned exit scheme. It is for Homes England to consult with affected staff and trade union representatives in the usual manner.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Written Questions

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many and what proportion of his Department's answers to written questions have been identical in this Session.

Dehenna Davison: The information requested is not held centrally.

Elections: Proof of Identity

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March to Question 165270 on Local Government: Elections, and with reference to Tables 1 and 7 of the guidance on Elections Act New Burdens funding methodology: voter identification and accessibility published by his Department on 19 December 2022, whether the grant for poll station staff training will cover the training of officers at polling stations on determining whether photographs are recognisable.

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March to Question 165272 on Local Government: Elections, if he will publish guidance on the criteria by which a photographic ID is deemed recognisable of the individual holding that identification.

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Pursuant to the Answer of 17 March to Question 165273 on Local Government: Elections, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of voter ID measures on the number of minority and ethnic voters expected to exercise their right to vote.

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March to Question 165280 on Local Government: Elections, if he will make an estimate of the number of eligible voters who may be unable to vote at polling stations under the new Voter ID legislation because of a lack of (a) acceptable ID and (b) awareness of the new requirements.

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Pursuant to the Answer of 17 March to Question 165282 on Local Government: Elections, if he will make an estimate of (a) how many and what proportion of applications for voter authority certificates have been rejected and (b) how many people will require a voter authority certificate.

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March to Question 165285 on Local Government: Elections, if he will make an estimate of (a) how many of people will apply for a voter authority certificate and (b) how many and what proportion of those people have been issued with a certificate.

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March to Question 165286 on Local Government: Elections, if he will make an estimate of how many and what proportion of Black people (a) have applied and (b) will apply for a voter authority certificate.

Dehenna Davison: I refer the Hon. Member to the Urgent Question response on 21 February 2023, and to the oral answer given on Monday 27 March (Official Report, HC, Volume 730, Column 646). I also refer to answers given to Questions UIN 165395 on 22 March 2023, UIN 165396 on 22 March 2023, UIN 165273 on 17 March 2023, UIN 165280 on 17 March 2023, UIN 165271 on 20 March 2023 and UIN 90823 23 November 2022. Data on the declared ethnicity of applicants for Voter Authority Certificates is not held centrally.

Thames Freeport: DP World

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, for what reasons the Government has entered into partnership with DP World to run Thames Freeport given its criticism of the business in 2022.

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department made an assessment of DP World's record on workers' rights before approving the decision to allow that company to co-run the Thames Freeport.

Dehenna Davison: Businesses operating in Freeports are subject to the same UK employment laws and protections as they would be elsewhere in the country, including the Seafarers' Wages Bill which received Royal Assent on 23 March 2023 and will make access to UK ports conditional on operators of regular services demonstrating that they will be paying at least an equivalent rate to the UK National Minimum Wage whilst in UK waters.

CP Plus

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what information his Department holds on the parking charge notice practices of CP Plus Limited.

Dehenna Davison: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency publishes this data on registered vehicle keeper data requests made by private parking companies.The Government is very aware of concerns about the poor practice and behaviour of some parking operators and is taking action to improve standards and create a fairer system for motorists. My department is implementing the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019, which involves the development of an independent Code of Practice for private parking companies.

UK Shared Prosperity Fund: Enfield

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund has been allocated to the London Borough of Enfield.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many and what proportion of projects funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund have been in the London Borough of Enfield.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the performance of the the UK Shared Prosperity Fund on its levelling-up objectives since August 2022.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to support applications to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in (a) the London Borough of Enfield, (b) London and (c) England.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many projects have been funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the levelling up funding allocated to Enfield.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of awarding levelling up funding to Enfield.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will publish a list of all the unsuccessful Levelling Up Fund bids; and if he will make a statement.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate his Department has made of the financial costs incurred by local authorities associated with the bidding process for funding from the Levelling Up Fund, including those made by authorities which were unsuccessful.

Dehenna Davison: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 142810 21 February 2023.The UK Government is committed to levelling up parts of the UK, including Enfield, and that is why the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) is investing in all areas. The Greater London Authority is the lead local authority for UKSPF purposes and will receive a total allocation of £185,390,561 over three years of the Fund.Delivery for UKSPF funding began in earnest when investment plans were approved in December 2022. DLUHC await end-of-year reporting to know which projects lead local authorities have decided to fund. We have published our UKSPF Evaluation Strategy which sets out the evaluation plans for UKSPF over the remaining lifetime of the Fund.Local authorities are responsible for managing the funding allocation for their area, including assessing and approving project applications, processing payments and day-to-day monitoring.

Investment Zones: Ellesmere Port

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2023 to Question 17064 on Investment Zones: Ellesmere Port, if he will set out the specific reasons behind the decision not to proceed with Ellesmere Port industrial area as an investment zone, including any scoring or ranking applied to the Ellesmere Port investment zone bid.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2023 to Question 170641 on Investment Zones: Ellesmere Port, if he will set out what alternative funding sources are available for the Ellesmere Port industrial area.

Dehenna Davison: Further to the answer to Question UIN 167099 on 21 March 2023, I refer the Hon. Member to the information published at Autumn Statement on the Investment Zones programme.

Ministry of Justice

Office of the Public Guardian: Telephone Services

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce average call wait times for people contacting the Office of the Public Guardian.

Mike Freer: The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) is currently receiving a high volume of calls and is committed to reducing the average call waiting times that customers experience. To improve call waiting times, OPG is recruiting additional staff and has improved information that is available to customers to reduce the number of calls that customers need to make.The number of staff working in the call centre is increasing OPG has been recruiting additional staff, who will be trained and are expected to start taking calls in April 2023.OPG has been working to improve its customer service including providing updates on the progress of applications. In September 2022, OPG introduced an acknowledgment letter to send to customers to reassure them about the progress of their applications and to reduce the number of calls OPG receive, leading to other calls being answered more quickly.OPG also identified the top 10-15 questions that customers most commonly call about, and in June 2022, introduced FAQs which are played on its call lines while customers wait for their calls to be answered, helping to further reduce the number of calls requiring assistance from a contact centre advisor.The government is also supporting the Powers of Attorney Bill sponsored by Stephen Metcalfe MP. In addition to improving the current paper-based service, the Bill will also enable a new digital service, thereby helping to further reduce call volumes and call wait times for customers.

Department for Transport

Cars: Sales

Selaine Saxby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his department is on track to legislate for ending sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 within the proposed January 2024 timeframe.

Jesse Norman: Yes, the Department is on track.

Government Departments: Electric Vehicles

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to promote the uptake of electric cars by Government departments..

Jesse Norman: Decarbonising road transport is critical to delivering the UK’s net zero ambitions and the Government has an important leadership role to play in driving this transition. As of September 2022, over 25% of the cars and vans in the central government fleet were ultra-low emission vehicles, delivering this target well ahead of the Government’s December 2022 deadline. The Government is now going even further and has committed to its car and van fleet being fully zero emission at the tailpipe by 31 December 2027. Departmental officials are working with colleagues from the Crown Commercial Service and Energy Saving Trust to provide other government departments with advice and guidance to support them to deliver this commitment.

Department of Health and Social Care

Cancer: Health Services

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the time from (a) patients presenting with cancer symptoms to diagnosis and (b) from diagnosis of cancer to treatment for (i) cancer in general and (ii) pancreatic cancer.

Helen Whately: The Government plans to spend £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to help maintain elective activity, including cancer diagnosis and treatment.The Government awarded £2.3 billion at the 2021 Spending Review to transform diagnostic services over the next three years. As part of this investment, up to 160 new Community Diagnostic Centres will deliver additional, digitally connected, diagnostic capacity in England, providing patients with a coordinated set of diagnostic checks, including for cancer.For pancreatic cancer specifically, the National Health Service is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with vague and non-site specific symptoms which do not clearly align to a tumour type. This includes symptoms of pancreatic cancer. NHS England have also announced a new pancreatic cancer clinical audit to provide evidence of variation and support the National Health Service to increase the consistency of access to treatments and improve cancer detection for pancreatic cancer. The Royal College of Surgeons is supporting this work, and the first outcomes are expected in 2023/24.

Dental Services: Children

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children were admitted to hospital for tooth decay extractions in (a) Halton, (b) the North West, (c) England and (d) the UK in the last (i) three, (ii) six, (iii) 12 and (iv) 24 months.

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many adults were admitted to hospital for tooth decay extractions in (a) Halton, (b) the North West, (c) England and (d) the UK in the last (i) three, (ii) six, (iii) 12 and (iv) 24 months.

Neil O'Brien: This table attached provides data collected by NHS England for hospital episodes of extractions in different age groups, broken down to compare data from two years ago with data from 12 months, six months and three months. Hospital episodes are not necessarily the same as the number of patients.The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities publishes data on dental extractions in children and young people each year providing more detail on variations and disparities.Hospital admissions for tooth decay extraction (docx, 19.4KB)

Cancer: Health Services

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the service specifications for teenage and young adult cancer services in England.

Helen Whately: New teenage and young adult cancer service specifications are expected to be published within the coming months.

Cancer: Halton

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of cancer patients in Halton constituency who received an urgent referral received their first treatment within 62 days of that referral in the latest period for which data are available.

Helen Whately: The information is not held in the format requested. Cancer waiting time data is not collected by constituency.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will outline the (a) decision-making process and (b) eligibility criteria used to determine which NHS Trusts received funding for Breast Cancer Screening Units in the financial year 2022-23.

Helen Whately: All National Health Service Breast Screening services were eligible for the fund, if there was commitment in agreement with NHS England, to increase breast screening activity and improve efficiencies and programme resilience.

Hospitals: Discharges

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many delayed discharges there were from NHS (a) elective, (b) non-elective, (c) high dependency, (d) standard ward and (e) other beds in February 2023.

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2023 to Question 135229 on Hospitals: Discharges, how many and what proportion of delayed discharges were due to (a) hospital process delays, (b) patients awaiting the start of (i) home-based, (ii) residential, (iii) nursing home and (iv) intermediate care and (c) any other reason in the latest period for which data is available.

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in hospital who have been identified as medically fit for discharge are waiting for (a) a care package at home, (b) a short-term rehabilitation bed, (c) a permanent bed in a care home, (d) a permanent bed in a nursing home and (e) another reason.

Helen Whately: The information requested is not held centrally. NHS England publishes information about the daily numbers of patients who no longer meet the criteria to reside and this is broken down by the care and support they receive subsequent to being discharged. They also publish a weekly snapshot of the number of additional days total patients have remained in hospital since no longer meeting the criteria to reside. This information is available on the NHS England website.

Social Services: Finance

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people receive a personal budget for their social care.

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have received a personal budget for their social care in each of the last 13 years.

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what was the cost to the public purse of personal budgets for social care in each of the last 13 years.

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people currently in receipt of personal budgets have their local authority manage their budget for them.

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people currently in receipt of personal budgets ask their local authority to pay the money to another organisation.

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people currently in receipt of personal budgets receive this support as a direct payment.

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in receipt of personal budgets receive the support as a combination of direct payments, payments to organisations or funding managed by the local authority.

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in receipt of personal budgets have received this support as a direct payment in each of the last 13 years.

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what was the cost to the public purse of direct payments for personal budgets for social care in each of the last 13 years.

Helen Whately: The care and support statutory guidance sets out that every adult whose social care and support needs are met by their local authority must receive a personal budget as part of their care and support plan, or support plan.NHS Digital’s Short and Long Term (SALT) Data Returns and Adult Social Care Finance Returns (ASC-FR) contain data on personal budgets and direct payments, but not the specific data points required to directly answer these questions. A complete list of SALT and ASC-FR publications is available at the following link:www.digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/adult-social-care-activity-and-finance-reportTable 34 of the Data Tables resource for the 2021/22 release includes some data regarding the number of people in receipt of personal budgets.

Women and Equalities

Government Departments: Travellers

Janet Daby: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether she is taking steps to implement the 18+1 ethnicity monitoring system for data collection across Government for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.

Maria Caulfield: The Cabinet Office’s Equality Hub encourages the use of Government Statistical Service harmonised standards for ethnicity data collection across government departments and other public bodies.The current ethnicity harmonised standard is based on the 2011 Census questions across the UK. The ethnicity questions were adjusted so they could be used in the 2021 censuses for England and Wales, and Northern Ireland; and the 2022 Census for Scotland.This means that the 2021 and 2022 census questions are, currently, the most up to date way of collecting data about ethnic groups.The classification for England and Wales has 19 groups including the categories ‘Gypsy or Irish Traveller’ and ‘Roma’ (https://analysisfunction.civilservice.gov.uk/policy-store/ethnicity-harmonised-standard).

Equality Hub: Finance

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2023 to Question 147169, on Equality Hub: Finance, when she plans to publish the Outcome Delivery Plan for the next period.

Maria Caulfield: The Equality Hub is part of the Cabinet Office, and as such its priorities are published through their Outcome Delivery Plan. Work on the Cabinet Office Outcome Delivery Plan is underway and it will be published in due course.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Broadband and Telephone Services: Fees and Charges

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals on abolishing broadband and telephone line rental charges.

Julia Lopez: As the independent regulator for telecoms, it is the responsibility of Ofcom to make decisions relating to pricing regulation. In 2017, Ofcom conducted a review of the market which found that customers who only have a landline were getting poor value for money compared to customers who had bundles of landline, broadband and pay-TV services.As a result of this review, Ofcom proposed new regulation which requires BT to reduce the price of line rental for these landline-only customers, from £18.99 to £11.99. At the time this represented a saving of £84 a year, or 37%, for up to one million of BT’s customers who didn’t also have a BT broadband service. BT also committed to capping any overall increases to line rental and call charges to inflation for three years.BT’s original commitments ran to the end of March 2021. However, it committed to continue these protections for a further five years, which Ofcom accepted.Given Ofcom’s statutory independence, it would not be appropriate for the Government to further comment on its regulatory decisions, which are taken independent of the Government.